Naked party has Yale prank society under investigation after allegations of hazing, sexual assault

By NINA MANDELL

|DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER|

Mar 04, 2011 | 1:03 PM

A naked party at Yale may have one prank society in big trouble. (Erin Pettigrew/Flickr)

Allegations of possible hazing and sexual assault have one group of seniors at Yale thinking about covering up.

The Yale Police Department is investigating a Feb. 19 "naked party" held by the elite university's senior prank society after one student mentioned a "possible sexual assault" at the party, according to the student newspaper.

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Party attendees, who were there by invitation only, according to the newspaper, came in costume but once inside were told to take it all off. Students also told the newspaper that it was part of the society's "tap" initiation process, which is similar to rushing a fraternity.

The Pundits are a group of students described as merry pranksters who live every day like April Fools, according to one 2005 article in the school newspaper about them. It's a longstanding tradition that has included naked runs, great moments at the Harvard-Yale game and more. With a low profile, it is analogous to secret societies – except when spotted making people laugh on campus. Even naked parties are a well-loved Pundits tradition, with as many as a dozen a year. A well-written-about tradition, the Pundits have sparked articles in everywhere from even Harvard's newspaper to The New York Times.

The allegations, though, are no laughing matter. One male attendee said that he had a penis forcibly pushed against his face, according to the newspaper.

"The biggest problem, and what was dis-inhibiting people, was that they were force-feeding people alcohol and they couldn't say no because of the power dynamic," one student told the paper.

Other attendees said that the party was just that – a party.

"Obviously, it's a Pundits party, so it's rowdy by nature, but other than that I didn't see anything [resembling sexual assault] go down," said one junior who attended the party. I was pretty shocked to hear about [those allegations] the next day."

It isn't the first time a Yale organization got in trouble for hazing. In October, the university scrambled after a YouTube clip of a Delta Kappa Epsilon pledging ritual went viral, showing pledges marching blindfolded and screaming, "No means yes! Yes means anal!"